Six Defending Iowa High School State Cross Country Champions Set To Race

Iowa high school state cross country championships begin Friday in Fort Dodge

May 24, 2025; Des Moines, IA, US; Quentin Nauman Epworth, WD breaks 4 minutes to win the 4A 1600m during the 2025 IOWA HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Drake Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-The Des Moines Register / Reese Strickland/Special To The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For two days, the best distance runners in Iowa high school cross country will call Fort Dodge home.

The Iowa high school state cross country championships begin Friday from Lakeside Golf Course at Kennedy Park and continue through Saturday. Along the way, individual and team champions will be crowned in four classifications along with the wheelchair division.

Five of those eight races feature defending champions, including the Class 3A boys race that will be a featured attraction.

University of Oregon commit Quentin Nauman of Western Dubuque looks to retain his title when he battles Canaan Dunham of Pella, Caleb Ten Pas from Des Moines Christian and the rest of the field.

Dunham was the runner-up last year to Nauman while Ten Pas finished third. The trio have battled over the years in both cross country and track.

Earlier this regular season, Nauman scored a win over Dunham at a race hosted by Cedar Rapids Prairie. During the last track and field campaign, Nauman captured four races, including the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 races in record-breaking time at the state championships.

He continued his strong run with national titles across the country.

Returning Iowa High School State Cross Country Champions Seek More Gold

Joining Nauman as a returning state champion are Emerson Vokes of Grundy Center, Marissa Ferebee from Pella, Piper Messerly of Dallas Center-Grimes and Lili Denton from Council Bluffs St. Albert. Eli Johnson of Bedford returns to defend his wheelchair championship.

Vokes won the 2A boys title last year, Ferebee led a 1-2-3 finish for Pella that included team gold in 3A, Messerly won the 4A girls race as a sophomore and Denton claimed 1A honors.

Returning state team champions include Pleasant Valley (girls) and Cedar Falls (boys) in 4A; Gilbert (boys) and Pella (girls) in 3A; Mid-Prairie (girls) and Oelwein (boys) in 2A; and Earlham (girls) and Lake Mills (boys) in 1A.

All the action starts at 10:30 a.m. both days, as 2A and 3A compete Friday and 1A and 4A go on Saturday. Fort Dodge has been the host site of the Iowa high school state cross country championships since 1993.

The Iowa high school state cross country championship fields were determined last week by state-qualifying races held around Iowa.

Qualifiers came from the Top 3 teams in 4A, 3A and 2A along with the Top 2 teams in 1A from each site. For individuals, the Top 15 in 4A, 3A and 2A advanced along with the Top 10 from 1A.

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